Best-Of Awards 2026 Methodologies

Best Airline Rewards Program

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

Eligible airlines were required to be based in the U.S. and have a publicly available rewards search calendar with availability between 15 days and 180 days from the time of search. The airline must also be a full-service carrier ranked in the top six for airline domestic market share between May 2024 and April 2025. Full-service carriers offer multiple cabin types, and generally don’t charge extra for items like carry-ons.

Six airlines fit these criteria: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.

How we chose the winner:

We looked at the rewards rate, ability to earn miles, route network and rankings by each member of the travel content team. Each factor was scored separately, and an overall rating was determined based on an equal weighting across categories.

How we rated and weighted each factor:

• Rewards rate (25%). We determined the dollar value and earnings rate of miles in each program in August 2025. To determine the rewards rate, we multiplied the value of each mile by the earnings rate and then multiplied by 100. For example, if an airline’s rewards miles were worth $0.01 apiece (the value of rewards miles) and 10 miles were earned per dollar spent (the earnings rate of miles), its program would have a 10% rewards rate. (In this example, the two equations would be: first $0.01 x 10 = 0.1, then 0.1 x 100 = 10, or 10%.)
• Ability to earn miles (25%). Each rewards program was scored on the ability to earn miles through flying and credit card spending (through airline-branded cards or general travel cards). Some of the airline-branded cards reviewed include products from NerdWallet partners, but this did not influence our selection of the winner.
• Route network (25%). The number of domestic and international destinations served by each airline were provided by FlightConnections and a monthly average of domestic cities served was calculated.
• Travel team (25%). In addition to quantitative metrics, we also considered qualitative factors. The qualitative portion is based on a composite of editorial team members’ review using the same criteria listed above.

How we verified our data:

We independently spot-checked data collected to ensure accuracy. Information about loyalty programs was verified on the airlines’ websites.


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